Malaysian brothers face extra charges, plead not guilty

TWO Malaysian brothers yesterday faced additional charges of importation of undeclared stones by the tonnes, abetment of making an incorrect declaration and abetment of the barges that allegedly entered Brunei Darussalam waters without receiving port clearance from customs.

Lau Ing Ngie William and Lau Ing Kwong, who are represented by lawyer YC Lee of YC Lee and Lee, entered pleas of not guilty to all the charges. The case was fixed for further mention on October 14.

The Brunei registered company, Abasa Shipping & Trading Sdn Bhd, Lau Ing Ngie William and Lau Ing Kwong are facing 38 charges of importation of some 1000 tonnes of undeclared stones on at least 38 different occasions between January and November 2013, through the use of their Malaysian-registered vessels Jinluck Dua and Abasa No 1.

One allegation states that they had abetted their agent of Hafiza Enterprise to make an incorrect declaration to the customs authority on February 26, 2013. They had declared 250 tonnes of stones were on Jinluck Dua when it was actually carrying 908.50 tonnes.

The offences carry hefty fines and lengthy imprisonment terms.

The defendants’ bail release of $20,000 or one local surety each was extended.

Present at the hearing yesterday were the 14 Indonesian and Filipino nationals working on the two barges.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharon Yeo appeared on behalf of the public prosecutor.